Hot Rods The Tindall Coupe Build: From Start To Finish

I picked up the car when i was sixteen years old. I am now 18 and its getting real close.. Here are all the pictures from beginning to end. Bill from Moonlite Kustoms did an out standing job on the paint...It is top notch.
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This is my first attempt at putting a car together, ill be getting my license in about a year so i hope my coupe is done by then. My dad and I are going to do as much of it our self as we can.

So far its a 30' 5 window 32' rails 63' 409 w/ 6x2's.
here is what i started out with






i made up some braces so that noting moves







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few more pics from the chop







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up front is a C.E 47in dropped and drilled axel with hairpins.



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worked on the coupe a little this week, once i got the original chassis out from under it i brought the new rails in,
i started lookin at the sub rail construction and have a few ideas, also i cut out the rear rumble pan and other floor boards.




to make sure that my rumble lid fits back in, i made up some 3/4 tubing braces to hold the quarters in place.

don't you love when the ups man drops off cool stuff?


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got a little more done on the coupe since this thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228673
i got it dropped back on the ground






and i stripped down the 63 409 block



everything looks good so far.(fingers crossed)



right now im workin on patch panels and "channeling" the cowl to eliminate the dreadful gap with A on 32' rails

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here is how i channeled the cowl of my 30

First i cut out the support


with that out of the way, i could drop the cowl over the frame the necessary 3/4 of an inch to hide the gap.




The so-cal frame i have is not as narrow as i would have liked in the cowl area, there is a gap between the firewall and cowl sides.


so i pie cut the supports to make it look right




I welded all of that up and used the origional support to make the new foot.


i think it came out ok

and i just got my intake the other day

 

got me some new tires!!
Firestone's 750 on 16x4.5
Now its starting to look like something
The body should drop a good 1-2 inches once i get some weight in there, or take out some leafs.












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got the whitewalls all cleaned up.



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Decided to tackle the rear subrails today. I needed new sub rails because i used a 32 chassis.

First i started with 1x2 box tubing around 36'' long
I made cuts spaced 1" apart.
The more cuts you make, the smaller the gap of each= easier to weld


clamped it in place



Then made cuts 1/2 inch apart on the opposite side


finished product(except for welding)

 

hahah my arm was very tired after all of those cuts, i really want to find a band saw!!

Got the motor back from being pressure tested and it checked out. I threw it on some 2x4 to get a rough idea of height, i think this is where it will end up. Now i have to cut the firewall to make it fit.








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I cut the firewall and pushed the engine back a little. It might end up further back once i get my water pump.









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Got a little bit done today, i got some 600 16's bolted on the front. It is almost a roller, i still need steering, but it is a big step forward. I also got the motor where it is going to be, so i can make up some mounts over the memorial day weekend. Dont worry, the red wheels are not staying. They will eventually get solid steel wheels like the back.

 

i decided to tackle to motor mounts. I think they should stand up to the 409, but we will see. Most of the plate is 3/8 and the rest is 1/4. i wanted the motor to sit kind of high so that complicated a few things, but they are coming out pretty good so far. I still need to weld them, and add a wrap-around gusset on the bottom plate.








-Matt Tindall

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finally got a chance to roll it out and take some new pics. Tell me what you think...











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Worked on putting a new patch panel in the driver cowl.. It came out alright for my first one i think.






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Exhaust:

I started out with 4, 1 3/4 U bends and 2 cones from the alliance vender, Cone Engineering.



For the Flanges, i cut them out of 1/4 inch flat stock and used a hole-saw to make the port.


I started out with the front port and cut a curved section,







For the other 3 pipes, i cut a section again and will make the same cut on all three, just changing the length of the straight portion of the tube. I started with the end one because it will be the longest tube, so if i mess up (which i did) it will still fit in the shorter sections.








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I got some work done on the firewall today, 1 3/4'' tubing used to make a nice rolled edge.




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I had a few options for clutch linkage on my hot rod. I like the simplicity of mechanical linkage, and it was pretty cheap.




I started out with a DOM tube with a 7/8 id and a wall of 1/8. Then i made two Arms out of 1/4 flat stock. I used 2 GM Clutch Pivot balls for each end.


One pivot will bolt through a 3/8 plate, attached to the boxed frame.


On the other end, i pick up off of three bolt on the blow proof bell housing.

This is what it looks like outside of the frame.


And Inside


I used a corvette clutch fork, and a clevis for the fork side. The threaded rod to the clutch for is only for mockup, it will get a real rod later






And on the pedal side, i used two Heim Joints. This is only a mock up for now, for the real deal, it will get a 7/16 tube and larger heim joints.






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i rolled the car out today to finish up some welding on the firewall


i made the final piece of the firewall and welded it in









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I have a beefed up t5 to go behind

Update:

I havent worked on this car for a while, i just got my license, and have been working to get my 68' chevelle on the road, it is now so i can focus back on the hot rod.


I got the car back in the shop and tore into the back end, i ripped out the rear sub rail and started putting it back together. More updates soon.











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here is the new panels fitted up

 

i finish welded the firewall and threw some paint on it.


Then i finished up the rear sub rails. im still waiting on a gastank so i can continue laying out the supports once i get that.






My dad also primed up some of the rear suspension...

 

I ordered a tank from tanks inc. and got it mounted up.





I also got a seat from a 1997 dodge minivan mocked up



i ordered a 28'' column from lime works along with a 15" wheel. I made my own column drop...

I started with 1/8 x 1" flat stock and bent it in the shape i wanted. Then cut a flat piece to fill the top.












here is the clamping part...









It will be jam nutted on both sides...









and for the bottom...

 

we made some patches for the wheel well. We put the bead in in with a hydraulic press and some water pipe. They came out pretty good for the first time.






i also got a drive shaft made and fabed up some brackets to mount a drive shaft loop...





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i started to lay some floors more to come soon





The tunnel is actually a model a engine pan...


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i finished the rear floors...




finished off making the last piece of the tunnel...





cut a hole for the master cylinder access....

 

3


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got my wood kit test fit now im gonna stain it to give it a cool look im gonna run without an insert for a while...




and i cut in my tail lights...






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got the wood all stained and put in...

 

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i Got my carbs from UncleMax...and they look great. Brake lines are done...almost ready to start it up

 

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getting real close

 

sweet build keep it up

 

Very impressed with what you are doing. Have been following your posts from the start of your build.

 

I picked up the body and am still blown away by how nice it is. Bill is an outstanding painter... Ill let the pictures do the talking

 

Inspiring............

I love the play by play of the build. This is a bad ass coupe!

Leon

 

Amazing job...

 

You got it all wrong... not impressive for a 16 year old just IMPRESSIVE at any age. Killer car and you can be proud because you did it yourself.

 

looks cool im ganna start mine here prety soon. i have a 348 to put in mine...jones

 

GREAT JOB...I built my first hot rod when I was 18...angle iron brackets were easy to make and bolt in! Things have changed! Your car show true craftsmanship throughout! Keep up the good work!

 

Great work, wow!

 

Tits dude......

 

Holy crap that is sooooo coool!!! I'm so glad I could be a part of this build Matt. You and your Dad have by far been my best customers!!!

 

wow, how many ways can you say perfect.
this is one fine hot rod.

 

really nice work matt.

 

I want to see this is person. When's it coming to the K-Mart cruise?

 

Amazing skills...great looking ride!

 

That is beautiful, very nice work